05 October, 2012

There are countless miles of gravel and dirt roads in America. Even here, on the east coast, you can find them once you get out of town. Of course they are great for touring, but Igor enjoys blasting down them. Here are a few photos of him putting a Campeur gravel racer through it's paces.

15 comments:

Sean
said...

Very nice. Have a question though, wouldn't barend shifters or kelly takeoffs (bonus points if you remember those) be a bit better for a gravelly environment (hey, I love dowtube shifters too, just sometimes it is easier having the controls closer at hand).

The most impressive point in the photos is the lack of fenders. I'm working on a similiar build on an older bike and,although I want larger tires for rough roads, I feel compelled by the popular opinion to install fenders. It's hard to beat the beauty of those hammered things, but I honestly don't want or need fenders in this situation. I predict great things with this Campeur. Thanks for "freeing me".

Fenders keep rocks from hitting your downtube. I ride a bike with them on bad gravel roads and one without, and the one with out takes a pretty good beating when the rocks fly up and smack it. For Maryland and NOVA residents, the dirt road database might be interesting. A bunch of local riders contributed to its creation and it is open to edits. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/93cjd6n